Delhi: Siri Fort area

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Gargi, Kamala Nehru run into heritage wall

Shradha Chettri, July 30, 2019: The Times of India

Mohammadwali Mosque
From: Shradha Chettri, July 30, 2019: The Times of India

KAMALA NEHRU COLLEGE
From: Shradha Chettri, July 30, 2019: The Times of India

Two premiere Delhi University colleges for women — Gargi and Kamala Nehru — are keenly awaiting Supreme Court’s interpretation of a key rule: because years after banning any construction within 100 metres of a protected monument, the apex court has been called upon to interpret British-era laws of 1904 and 1915 on conservation and protection of heritage monuments.

A Supreme Court bench recently agreed to settle the issue of where the 100m calculation should start from — the monument itself or the outer boundary wall guarding it. The 100-metre norm has scuttled any plans that these colleges may have had for adding new buildings or even floors to the existing ones.

Both Gargi College and Kamala Nehru College are located next to Siri Fort Wall, which is an Archaeological Survey of India-protected monument. Also, from the rear end of Kamala Nehru College, one can see Mohammadwali mosque, a key structure from the Lodhi era. Officials at both colleges say they have not been able to carry out any expansion plans because of the heritage restrictions, as according to the rules, the buildings cannot be higher than the monuments.

Asked if her institute had expansion plans, Promila Kumar, acting principal of Gargi College, had said: “As we are located close to an ASI-protected monument, we cannot carry out any construction.” Built in the 1960s, neither college has hostels for girl students.

Mired in legal formalities, Kamala Nehru College couldn’t utilise the funds given to it under the head of OBC expansion in 2013. After knocking on several doors, the college finally received an NOC to add floors to its building in 2018-end. “But then we were told that the money had to be returned to University Grants Commission (UGC) for failing to utilise the funds. We requested UGC to treat it as a special case. The building plan is ready, but we don’t know whether to go ahead with the tendering process,” a senior college official said.

Teachers say both colleges have adequate space to construct new buildings. A senior teacher at Kamala Nehru College told TOI: “Our college is more than 100 metres away from the ASIprotected monument and the two don’t have a common wall. For educational institutions, there should be a separate process as it’s the students who are losing out. Nearly 20 years ago, Gargi and Kamala Nehru had moved a proposal to build a joint hostel, but the plan could never materialise due to the legal formalities involved.”

With the colleges now required to expand to meet the demands of the Economically Weaker Section (EWS) quota, the two institutes are not sure how they will cope with their meagre resources.